Kuoh.
After a very long conversation, which took place without Alaya present, Griselda and I returned to the basement of the Church. Grandpa was no longer there, and the nuns had taken refuge in their rooms.
Sitting on the sofa and looking at the completely silent Griselda opposite me, I drank another cup of coffee and summed up the conversation.
The biblical God didn't stand on ceremony and dumped almost everything he could on the nun. And this "everything" included not only a description of the situation with Beast VI/S, but also the whole essence of the world of DxD, even the fact that it was fictional. But, perhaps, I'll give him credit, because he didn't say anything about me.
To be honest, I expected her reaction to be a typical existential crisis, where a person just stares into the void in front of them, rethinking their entire life. However, Griselda took it all surprisingly calmly. She listened to the Biblical God and even asked questions at times, analyzing the information she received and drawing analogies.
In short, I was impressed, and I think it suited her appearance, which was almost perfect, mind you. The key word is "almost".
I put the cup on the table, which caught Griselda's attention.
- "I suppose you already understand that he didn't tell you everything?"
- "Yes," she nodded. "The Almighty shared with me only what He deemed necessary."
- "Of course," I rolled my eyes. "You see, Beast VI/S does not have a physical form, unlike Beast I, for example, and therefore requires a suitable body and a catalyst associated with the Bible. After all, Beast VI/S personified the Whore of Babylon, who embodied all mortal sins according to Christianity."
- "I..."
- "I won't ask you why you became a candidate for this role, as I think that's too much even for me. It's none of my business," I interrupted her, receiving another strange look that I had seen from her recently. "But now you have very few choices."
- "Choices?" asked Griselda. "I already made them when the Almighty explained the situation to me. I became a vessel for the Evil of Humanity, capable of bringing about the End of the World, and my mission is to prevent this by any means necessary. Even if it requires sacrifice."
- "Well, the essence is correct, but the methods are not quite right."
- "What do you mean?"
- "You see, as you have probably already understood, this world has 'tiny' problems with logic and cause and effect," I said. "And, following these factors, the Biblical God wants me to 'tame' the Beast VI/S, making it completely harmless, as in the example with Goetia."
I rubbed my temples, because even now this idea didn't quite fit in my head.
- "Just so you know, if only Goetia were here, without me, I mean, even Great Red, the Biblical God, and Ophis wouldn't be able to help you. One Noble Phantasm, and humanity would disappear in the blink of an eye. I speak from experience, if anything," I continued, receiving a look of realization, fear, and tension in return. "And yet he is not as 'close' to this world as Beast 666, which is Beast VI/G, and Beast VI/S in your body. I suppose it's not hard to imagine what would happen, is it?"
- "Do you enjoy scaring me?" Griselda asked.
- "Not really. I'm saying this so you understand the scale," I replied. "So, getting back to our topic of conversation, the scenario where the Beast undergoes 'taming' is, in principle, impossible in my original world. But the Biblical God, for reasons I don't understand, really believes that it will definitely work here."
- "Isn't that a good thing? After all, in that case, we can avoid the Apocalypse, and..."
- "Okay, stop," I interrupted her again. "Where does all this unshakable faith in the God of the Bible come from? In all the time we've known each other, I've never seen any signs of fanaticism in you."
She didn't answer, either because she didn't want to share her life or because she herself didn't know the answer to that question.
- "Anyway, never mind. It doesn't matter right now," I shrugged. "So, in order for the Beast in this world to be 'tamed', something is needed to bind them together. That is, something from this world, not necessarily material, that is already part of the Beast, but in a different form. The only question is that I have no idea what that could be."
I sighed and took a sip of coffee.
- "The only clue is you, though I don't know why yet," I continued. "And now you'll be under observation, because I need to figure out what to do, and it's not much different from what you hinted at earlier."
- "If it helps the case, I agree," Griselda said with enviable calm, then paused briefly.
The silence was quite comfortable, and in it I watched and analyzed the woman in front of me.
Again, Griselda was good. With nuances, but good. Selflessness, maturity, and, most importantly, a clear head. After all the shit that had happened to her in the last few hours, she still maintained an objective view of the situation and adapted to it.
Of course, I could have dug into her background and life to find answers. That was always an option. But, first of all, I respected Griselda, and therefore, doing so would have been rude even for me, as I said earlier. And secondly, looking at her mind had already given me some answers.
A perfect white cathedral, both outside and inside, but what is it made of? I suppose the more a person strives for perfection, the more they rot from within.
- "May I ask a question, Mr. Archaman?" she asked suddenly, interrupting my thoughts.
- "Okay," I shrugged.
- "What did you do when we were there, in my mind? And what is '3rd magic'? The beast said that only the possessor of 3rd magic can influence..."
- "I'll stop you there. And if you continue to think about it, I will erase your memory, which you probably don't want," I interrupted her for the third time, and although Griselda wanted an answer, she still forced herself to nod. "As for your first question, I strengthened your mind a little and sealed the Beast. It sounds extremely cliché, which I find disgusting, but that's how it is. And it will continue until the first possible solution to the problem appears. After all, the Biblical God wants to "tame" the Beast, not bury it deeper and forget about it until better times."
That was the end of the conversation, and I got up and headed for the exit.
- "Grandpa and Merlin will be watching you. Report to them about all changes, and even your own guesses about the situation," I said, but as soon as I stepped through the door to the staircase, Griselda suddenly spoke up.
- "You know, Mr. Archaman," she began. "This is the second time you've struck me as a worthy man with a sense of honor and dignity that is rarely found these days. I think if you were an exorcist, I wouldn't mind working with you."
- "And? Or are you trying to flirt with me, Miss 'Nun with an Indecent Body'?" I raised an eyebrow.
- "There you go again..." she sighed. "I just want to say that, remembering the Beast's words, you are perhaps the truest Saint that could possibly exist."
- "Huh? Could I have damaged your brain? Because now I have my doubts about that."
- "The perfect balance between each of the seven deadly sins," Griselda quoted the Beast. "I think I'm beginning to understand the meaning of those words."
In response, I just shrugged and left the church, deciding to walk home and, at the same time, contact Merlin and Grandpa.
- "Keep an eye on her. Merlin, you'll be there in physical form, and Grandpa, you'll be there from the shadows."
- "As you say," Grandpa replied.
- "No problem," Merlin added. "Should I inform the Servants?"
- "Yes," I said after thinking for a moment. "And..."
- "How's it going, colleague?" Suddenly, out of nowhere, Zelretch appeared next to me, causing me to instinctively shoot a concentrated beam of golden energy at him. And, of course, the attack was redirected by the vampire's open portals straight into the sky, where night became like day for a moment.
- "Bastard..." I hissed, then took a deep breath and drank the newly created cup of coffee in one gulp. "I don't know why you're here, but I'm busy. Look for a lab rat somewhere else."
- "Why so harsh, colleague?" he asked with his usual fanged grin and feigned hurt tone. "You remember what I promised you last time, don't you?"
- "No," I said firmly and continued on my way.
- "What a pity. I thought you needed help with Beast VI/S, but I guess I was wrong," he said with obvious amusement, putting on a sad face, which made me freeze and turn sharply in his direction. "Please accept my sincere apologies for the disturbance. I'll leave right now..."
- "You got me," I gritted my teeth in righteous anger, which earned me an even wider grin. "What did you come up with?"
-0-
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